1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for inputting character or text information on a terminal, and more particularly for providing virtual character sets including a plurality of virtual characters on a display of a terminal in which the plurality of virtual characters may be selected by selecting a corresponding physical key on the terminal.
2. Description of the Background Art
To create a text message on a mobile terminal, a user inputs information via an input unit included with the mobile terminal. The input unit generally includes a reduced number of keys for inputting the text message compared to the amount of keys used on a computer, for example.
In more detail, FIG. 1 is an overview illustrating a typical mobile communication terminal. As shown, the mobile terminal includes a keypad with a set of twelve key buttons in addition to cursor keys used to move a cursor on the display. Further, the twelve key buttons are arranged in four rows and three columns, and each key button is assigned a different character or numeral. For example, the numerals 0 to 9 and the special characters “*” and “#” are assigned to the key buttons. Thus, the user can enter telephone numbers by selecting the appropriate key buttons. In addition, the user can also write a text message by selecting the appropriate text message menu option and then selecting the different key buttons to create the text message.
For example, to create the word “APPLE” as shown on the display in FIG. 1, the user would select the key button 2 (to select the letter A); the key button 7 (to select the letter P); the cursor key to indicate a next letter was to be selected; the key button 7 (to again select the letter P); the key button 5 three times (to select the letter L); and the key button 3 two times (to select the letter E).
Thus, the user would have to select a total of nine key buttons to enter the word “APPLE.” That is, because the key buttons 1-9 are assigned three alphabet characters, the user has to repeatedly press the same key button to input one of the particularly desired characters. Therefore, it takes a long time to create a relatively long text message. This is inconvenient for the user. In addition, because the number of key buttons is limited to twelve, the number of available characters is also limited.